Chill
by October Dalliance
Summary: Someone wants to speak to Sokka. ONESHOT. Inspired by Crywolf’s “rising, rising”


"What is this place again?" Sokka wondered aloud, pushing aside a large leaf that hung in his path. His friends walked closely behind him through the thick wooded forest. "And How is getting lost here supposed to help you master your bending?"

Aang tripped over uprooted branches but managed to keep his balance. "The Monks used to talk about this place often. It's the one spot outside of the poles that's closely connected to the spirit world. It's supposed to be a lot easier to make contact from either world here.

"The connection is supposed to be so strong that even small spirits can physically manifest." Zuko added. "At least, according to uncle."

"The old man probably melted his brain from all that tea." Toph ridiculed. Zuko frowned but didn't disagree.

"If there's a chance Aang can easily contact the previous avatars somewhere where they'll be stable enough to teach him how to improve his bending, we should take it Sokka." Katara explained, bending drips of falling evening dew away from her and into a canteen.

"I mean the fact that we even found this place is a sign!" Aang enthused. "My people have spent their lives looking for this forest and came up empty. You gotta have a mutual meeting in order to find it."

Sokka frowned. "Mutual meeting?"

"Means some creepy spirit has gotta want to meet up with you too for you to even find this place." Toph smirked, feeling Sokka's unease. "Someone's looking for us." She wiggled her fingers.

"Knock it off, Toph" Sokka protested.

"But she's right." Zuko stepped forward, looking around. He held his hand in front of him and bent a decent sized flame. It was getting dark and would be hard to see soon. "The fact that we're here means something wants us to be."

Sokka shuddered. Katara felt a shiver too but shook it off. "Well we're with the avatar! I'm sure there are plenty of spirits that want to talk to him."

"That's right!" Aang enthused, seemingly the only one excited out of the group. "I'm sure it's one of my predecessors with some helpful hints! Or a spirit that needs my help!"

"Grrreat" Sokka mumbled to himself, wearily observing his darkening surroundings.

Many hours later...

"I can't believe we didn't find anything!" Aang exclaimed, throwing his arms up and flopping back onto the fluffy tail of his flying friend. "We came all this way for nothing!"

"That can't be true." Zuko rubbed the back of his head as he took a seat in front of the large campfire he'd started. "Uncle said it's impossible for anyone to find this place without a sure reason. We are meant to be here right now." He shook his head in confusion.

"Tea-brain, like I said." Toph concluded, falling on her back into the dirt and then abruptly bringing her hands upward, pitching an earth tent around her. Zuko flinched at the sudden loud movement and sighed. They were all exhausted.

Katara sighed as well, unrolling her sleeping furs beside Appa's tail. "Don't get discouraged guys. I think general Iroh was on to something. We're here for a reason, we just haven't found it yet."

"We came all this way, you'd think if a spirit wanted to meet with Aang, it'd make things a little easier." Sokka complained.

Aang laughed. "Spirits are never easy."

"Either way," Katara intervened "we'll have a better chance finding whatever we're looking for in the morning. Let's all just get some rest tonight." She stretched and tucked herself away.

Everyone adjusted themselves comfortably, and Sokka sat along the edge of the camp clearing, keeping first watch. He'd wake Zuko once he got too tired, but right now he was too creeped out by the eerily quiet woods.

Sokka yawned, stretching his arms toward the sky. He'd managed to polish his boomerang and pick the leaves from his clothes and was finally growing tired. He'd kept watch for a good while as his friends slept quietly around him; it was time to switch shifts. He pushed to his feet and put his hands on his lower back, leaning backwards in a stretch. The moon shone down on him, pretty and full. It was so large it reminded him of home. Katara would alway be restless during a full moon. Hyped up on whatever weird water-bender mumbojumbo the moon did to her… every full moon…?

Sokka looked over to his sister who slept soundly in her spot across the fire. She had been one of the first to fall asleep that night. That should've been a hassle during a full moon, especially one that seemed as close as this one...and why was the moon so big? They were nowhere near the poles.

How had he not noticed it up until this point either?

Matter of fact, the moon wasn't supposed to be full for weeks.

Sokka frowned in confusion. There was no way he'd counted their calendar so wrong. He was the self-proclaimed brains of the party. A fluke like "misplacing" a full moon was a strategic error they couldn't afford. There was no way that moon was supposed to be there...as crazy as it sounded.

It had to be the forest.

Some weird spirit trick he was much too tired to deal with. Random moons wernt dangerous (right?) and it was annoying to see spirit activity now when there had been none all day.

He was going to bed. It was Zuko's problem now.

Sokka walked past the fire, not noticing that he felt no warmth from it. He crossed the camp to Zuko's sleeping roll and reached down to shake his shoulder.

His hand passed through him.

Sokka reeled backwards fast enough to lose his own balance and fall on his rump. "H-hey!" He shouted in surprise, but his companions didn't budge. Now fully awake, he looked incredulously back at the misplaced moon and then down at himself. His hand was in the camp fire, unburning and unfeeling. It passed through him as well, but he snatched his hand back and jumped to his feet regardless. "Guys wake up! We've got a situation here!"

He was a spirit! It took a moment but He remembered how it felt before when the giant panda spirit dragged him into the spirit world. Aang was the only one who could even hear him at that point…

Aang!

Sokka ran to Appas tail, not bothering to step over his sleeping sister, and called out to the young avatar. He didn't respond and slept soundly. "Dang it Aang! I'm a spirit in distress! This is literally your job description!" He reached to try and shake the sleeping monk but once again his arms passed through. It felt different however, the sensation that he'd touched something was there, like putting his hands in warm air. Aang frowned in his sleep and Sokka nearly burst with excitement.

"Aang! Aang it's me! Sokka! You gotta wake up!" He flailed his arms through the boy over and over and even tried standing inside the avatar and spinning in circles. Aang responded by grumbling in his sleep and rolling over, burying his face further into Appas warm fur. He smiled once comfortable again.

"Oh c'mon!" Sokka threw his hands in the air and walked in a circle. He turned to the large looming moon and spread his arms out in large motions as he vented. "Why me! You got the wrong guy! The Avatar is right here!"

Not really expecting a response, he startled when hearing something moved on the other side of the camp. He habitually reached behind him for his boomerang only to be frustrated at the nothingness. The quiet shuffling persisted and Sokka slowly walked around the fire to get a clear view of who was entering their camp. He hadn't expected to find what he saw.

Slumped, sleeping against a tree, sat his body, with a frustrated expression. It was his body. He'd left his body.

Sokka felt light headed and hysterical for a moment but shook it off. He wasn't dead, he could clearly see his chest rising and falling...perhaps he was dreaming and was just in some... weird spirit dreamland thingy? He'd just return back to his body when someone woke him up.

Just as his ridiculous reasoning began to bring him comfort, the shuffling noise from before brought itself back to his attention and a large shadow appeared at the edge of the clearing. He crouched into a defensive stance deciding it was the best course of action he had. What else could he do? Maybe it was the spirit that had been looking for them. "Who's there?"

A large white paw stepped into the moonlight and his eyes widened as a wolf emerged from the shadows. Sokka blinked at the animal, actually shocked at how majestic it seemed. Being as tall as an ostrich-horse, he'd normally be panicked at a large wild animal, but it didn't seem malicious. In fact something about its flawless white fur and crystal blue eyes radiated calm. Sokka stood from his stance, watching the creature circle the camp. It's fur fluttered in an unnaturally slow way and he knew this was no ordinary animal. "Are you the spirit?" He asked quietly.

The wolf continued its circle, taking a slight interest in all who slept and unfortunately not seeming to hear the spirit boy. It rounded back around to sokka's sleeping form and stopped over him before dipping his nose down to sniff.

Sokka chuckled nervously in response as the wolf investigated his sleeping body. "Sorry buddy. I ate all my dinner if that's what you're looking for." He watched as the wolf pushed his face behind his back, slumping the boy further forward. There was a 'clank' sound and sokka's eyes widened as the animal slipped his boomerang from its holster. "Hey!"

The wolf's eyes snapped to Sokka's spirit and he froze. Could it really hear him? Did it see him? Sokka swallowed. "Um, hi..."

The wolf just watched him.

"Right. So that thing in your mouth is mine and I just polished it, um, Mr.Spirit, sir. So I'd really appreciate it if you'd put it— hey wait!!"

The wolf turned on its hind legs and ran silently off into the woods, taking a very shiny and important boomerang along. Sokka reflexively began to run after it but stopped to look towards his sleeping companions and then his own body…

There was nothing he could do in the state he was in. His best bet was reasoning with the spirit that'd just nabbed his favorite weapon.

He took off after it.

Time seemed to crawl as he ran until it froze all together. Sokka kept running, only half noticing the frozen fireflies and paused wildlife.

If he'd been in his body, he'd be winded from running at full speed for as long as he did. Luckily for him, he couldn't feel anything, including the 12 trees he would've accidentally smacked into chasing an animal through the dark wilds. The unnatural moon illuminated just enough for him not to lose sight of the spirit that led him through the dark. Whenever it would get too far ahead, it'd stop and seem to wait for him to catch up, as if needing him to follow. Sokka shouted ahead trying to talk to it but it didn't seem to understand. "You do realize you've got the wrong guy right?!"

It ran off again for Sokka to roll his eyes and chase after. That thing had better be giving him a ride back to camp.

The wolf led him to a large clearing that seemed to be centered beneath the giant moon. There was a pond in the center that was so crystal clear that it almost looked like there were two moons. "Woah." He whispered in awe. The beauty of the place was surreal. Fireflies floated on the outskirts of the still pond. The grass on the edges of the water was surprisingly frosted with a thin sparkling layer of ice. It was strange considering it hadn't been cold that day...and fireflies wouldn't be able to live somewhere cold enough to freeze plantlife. He stepped closer to the water and realized it was frozen solid. An impossible perfect clear mirror of ice.

No, there was definitely something spiritual about this specific spot. Sokka looked over as the creature he'd been following took a step onto the ice. At a closer look, it almost resembled a polar-dog. "Is this your home?" Sokka asked.

The spirit glanced at him and continued to walk toward the center of the frozen pond. Sokka felt like he should follow, but also felt like he should take off his shoes. The mirror was so clean. He looked toward his feet. How does one even take off spirit shoes?

There was a clank and he looked to see the spirit drop his boomerang in the middle of the reflected moon. It nudged it forward slightly as if to say "Right here, come get it."

Sokka frowned at the beast, feeling an almost guaranteed trap.

He couldn't really think of other options however and just felt a...peaceful sensation when looking at the spirit guide.

"Alright fluffy." he whispered, taking a cautious step onto the ice, grateful to find it not slippery. He ran a hand through his loose hair and rolled up the brown pant legs of his firenation trousers . "Here I come."

He walked slowly, wanting to keep his eyes on the spirit, but having too much experience falling through ice to not watch his feet. Even if it was "special spirit ice". Can't be too careful. His mirrored self watched him back as he walked.

He regretted it however when he looked back up to see his boomerang waiting for him alone on the ice. He looked around quickly, still careful of his feet, but the wolf was gone. He frowned shaking his head, not understanding what the spirit wanted from him by dragging him all the way out there. He sighed and reached down to pick up him boomerang.

His hand phased through it.

"AAHHHRGH!" He threw his hands up once more in frustration, making noises that sounded a bit like angry Zuko. "What am I supposed to do now!? What did you bring me out here for? How am I even supposed to take this back to camp!?!?!?" He asked the moon incredulously.

A whisper of a laugh from behind him had him spinning on his heels.

… his breath left his lungs.

That would be how he would feel if he were in his body. Being a spirit however, freezing in place with wide eyes seemed to be the equivalent.

"You look strange in red." A soft, echoed voice came from the glowing figure in front of him. Her long white hair floated around her, much longer than he remembered. Her robes long and white went well pass her feet, spilling into a circle behind her. The reflection of the moon seemed to be the train of her robes. Ribbons of white and the softest blues floated over her shoulders and around her head, seeming to float in water he couldn't see. She smiled at him, hands folded lightly in front of her.

"Yue." His voice was so breathless; he barely heard himself.

Her smile grew and she looked down to his boomerang, her long white lashes hiding her impossibly crystal eyes. "Mr.Spirit is also fine. Or fluffy." She chuckled, her voice sounding like an echo of soft chimes followed her words. The sound of it choked him.

His eyes widened further. She was the polar-dog spirit? He slowly shook his head in disbelief of it all. He felt as if all words had been taken from him and a boulder in his chest had be their replacement. He felt like choking...like crying, but he just stared. "Yue…"

Her smile faded and she slowly bought her eyes back to his. "Yes. It's me. Hello Sokka."

Sokka felt something in him swelling to the point of bursting. Never in his life had he ever felt so completely overwhelmed. His eyes dropped to the ground as he shook his head.

It was a dream. He'd finally decided. It finally made sense. It was just...just

just a dream.

Tears welled in his eyes as his breath seemed to finally come to him. He thought he'd finally moved past dreaming of her.

It had to be the forest.

The moon spirit took a soundless step toward him. Sokka watched her with a tortured expression. He didn't want her to come closer. She looked more perfect than any memory he could try to piece together. He needed to wake up or he'd be in a distracted state of depression for days…he couldn't afford this right now.

She stood directly in front of him and he could feel cool air rolling off of her onto his bare arms. She lifted one hand toward his face and he felt himself reflexively lean away. She paused.

He didn't want her to touch him. He didn't want to feel her... Feel her only to wake and ache from the memory of it. Just seeing her was...why was his brain doing this to him? He closed his eyes tight, spilling his tears and balling his fists. He hadn't dreamt of her in so long. So so long. Why now? Why was she resurfacing like this? So realistically and so close…

Was it the forest? The spirits?

Messing with his desires like they'd done before? His shoulders shook.

"I'm sorry Sokka." Yue's voice drifted from her and he quickly opened his eyes. She stood a step further back from him. Diamonds of ice seemed to fall from her eyes and evaporate right before landing at her feet. "I know I shouldn't have called you here. I know." She whispered.

Sokka watched as she squeezed her hands together. "I _wanted to see you...I am...being selfish."_

Her words hung on him like bricks.

"Even if only for a little while...I gave my life for this world. I want-I want to be selfish. Just once." She lifted her eyes to him. "Is that so wrong?"

A hysterical laugh escaped him. Even if it was a dream, if he'd had the power to be with her one last time…

He already knew he would have used it long ago.

He walked toward the northern princess and looked down at the hand she'd raised before. He reached slowly and slid his fingers beneath hers. He couldn't help holding his breath as his skin touched hers. She was soft and so cold, but more importantly, he could feel her. He watched their hands with his heart hanging by a thread. It was unbelievable. Was it because they were both supposedly spirits? Is that how things worked?

It didn't matter.

Yue watched as he closed his eyes and lifted her hand to his face. He could hear her sigh behind his closed eyes. He cupped her hand in both of his and pressed her chilled fingers to his lips. He inhaled deeply and ached.

She smelt like freshly fallen snow.

She stepped closer to him, closing the distance between them. She placed her other hand on his cheek, sliding her thumb beneath his wet eye. He opened his eyes to quietly look at her and his deep blue eyes swam with sadness and longing.

They didn't speak.

Yue rested her forehead on his chest. He smelled of smoke and furs as he slipped his arms around her and submerged his face into her hair. There was also another faint scent, almost washed away by his travels; something familiar. Something Water tribe. She buried her face there, feeling his heartbeat against her. "It's been so long since I've felt warmth." She hummed into his chest.

Sokka tensed, the revelation hitting him hard. How many things had she been deprived of? Things she would continue to go without until...until the end of time. Was she even happy at all? Was she spending all of eternity living a life of servitude? alone? He tightened his grip around her, his shoulders shaking again. "I'm sorry. Yue. I am so sorry." He choked out. "What can I do? Tell me what to do."

Yue pushed lightly on his chest to look up at him. The tortured look had returned to his eyes. "Do not dare pity me." She backed away from him. Sokkas arms ached with emptiness.

"I am the Goddess of the moon and a princess of the Northern Water Tribe." Her eyes dried and she held her hands above her. The moon began to glow a deep orange color and a strong gust of wind whipped around them. Sokka looked around as snow began to build at their feet. "I am the mother of all water benders and one of the strongest spirits in any realm." Her voice doubled and Sokka's eyes widened as she floated above the mirrored lake, a blizzard quickly forming around her as her skin faded to the color of the moon. The wind whipped at Sokka until he was forced to bring his arms up to shield his face. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to keep his feet grounded, but the air around him calmed soon after.

He opened his eyes.

She was back. Beautiful, glowing and calm in front of him.

"I am not weak." She answered softly.

Sokka blinked at her, nodding. The message had been understood. "Did you have to scare me?" He laughed nervously, suddenly realizing just who's presence he was truly in. She was far from being just the girl he remembered. She didn't need his protection anymore.

"No." She answered, bringing her hands to the sides of his face again. "But I did have to reassure you. Do not leave here and mourn for me."

Sokka closed his eyes. She was right. It pained him to realize how much she'd changed...but there was also a comfort in her words. She didn't want him to save her.

She'd made her choice.

She was not weak.

He placed his hands over hers and gave a small nod. She smiled in return and ran a soft thumb over his lip.

His heart skipped.

He caught her hand and bought her wrist to his lips. He kissed it and held it there before kissing beneath the hem of her sleeve. His heart soared at the feeling of finally kissing her skin and he accepted that even...even if it were all a dream, he'd be grateful for whatever rare moments he could have. Even if she could freeze him where he stood.

He kissed her palm and Yue was quiet, but when he looked at her, there was a warning in her eyes. A weariness and a want. She was the _moon_ and they were _not_ supposed to be here.

But what was it that she'd said? He tried to remember her exact words as he slipped his fingers beneath her chin and leaned forward.

Selfishness. Just once.

He would make the most of his one chance.

Sokka~

Sokka.

"Sokka!"

Sokka opened his eyes to the rising sun and an irritated Zuko standing over him. He groaned and sat up, feeling dizzy.

"You fell asleep and never woke me up! No one was on watch all night." Zuko sighed with an agitated voice but it wasn't loud enough for the others to hear. Maybe he was trying to keep the others from knowing. "Are you alright?"

Sokka squinted up at the fire bender and rubbed his eyes. They were wet. His entire face was. "Ah! Yeah! Yep I'm fine!" He quickly wiped at his face with his shirt. "Must just be allergies or something. No big deal."

Zuko looked unconvinced but sighed and walked to help the others pack their things. "Your boomerang is over there, by the way. I'm glad you finally cleaned it and everything, but...the ribbon is kinda girly."

Sokka walked in the direction Zuko had mentioned to see his weapon laying at the edge of their camp. How had it gotten over there? What ribbon? He rubbed his spinning head as he picked up the boomerang that was strangely chilled. On the bottom was a light blue ribbon.


End file.
